Scientists discover the origin of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs

A new study that has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Science has detailed the origins of the asteroid that caused the Chicxulub Crater, or the impact crater left behind by asteroid that ended the rein of the dinosaurs.

2

The Chicxulub Crater is located off the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and is believed to be caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago that measured six miles wide. The impact was catastrophic for life on Earth, causing a mass extinction-level event that wiped out the already declining population of dinosaurs. Researchers have penned a new study that has examined the origins of the dino-killing asteroid, tracing back its origin to the far outskirts of the solar system beyond the biggest planet in the solar system, Jupiter.

Mario Fischer-GÜdde, who researches the origin of asteroids and planets at the University of Cologne in Germany, spoke to Mashable and said the dino-killing asteroid was a "C-type asteroid," which means its composition was mostly carbon. Notably, C-type asteroids are the most common variety of asteroid, accounting for 75% of all known asteroids.

The team found within a thin layer of sediment caused by this event the element ruthenium, which is a rare element in Earth's crust. The team determined this ruthenium was caused by the dino-killing asteroid.

"We found that the composition of the asteroid that impacted at Chicxulub is the same as that of carbonaceous meteorites, which are fragments of carbonaceous (C-type) asteroids that originally formed beyond the orbit of Jupiter," said Fischer-GÜdde